Zone 3 is called tempo training or intensive endurance training. This zone challenges the upper limits of the aerobic system. Lactate production starts to ramp up at this Zone, however, there is no significant accumulation as intensity is still relatively low and clearance levels are still high due to the adequate of supply of oxygen to the muscles. For world-class fighting at its highest level, look no further than July’s five-rounder between strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Claudia Gadelha. An intense fight from start to finish, Jedrzejczyk proved her championship mettle in the toughest fight of her career, and Gadelha showed that she has the talent and determination to make another run at the crown.

Also, keep in mind, we want to do this as a conditioning routine. This is a way to get into fighting shape, but not prepare for a fight. This routine, may or may not be good for an MMA fighter, honestly, I don’t know because I’m not one! What I do know is the following workout(s) are my answer to my own question, how do you develop the conditioning to go 25 minutes in the octagon? So we develop and we progress. Start with 3 minute rounds and we’ll work up to the 5.

I was able to locate a school called Warrior’s Cove, and I was also excited to learn that the school was directly associated with the great Rickson Gracie whom I’ve seen on many a highlight reel. He is so good in fact that Royce Gracie actually claimed Rickson to be 10 times better than him. I figured it was meant to be and went in for some information.
Doug Balzarini, C.S.C.S., MMA-CC, is the owner of DB Strength, which provides fitness training, education and resources. He is the strength & conditioning coach for Alliance MMA, where he works with UFC Champion Dominick Cruz, Bellator Champion Michael Chandler, Phil Davis, Brandon Vera, Travis Browne, Ross Pearson, Alexander Gustafsson & others. Prior to starting his own business, Doug worked at Fitness Quest 10 as a personal trainer, strength coach & operations director for Todd Durkin Enterprises (TDE). He has completed graduate work in Biomechanics at SDSU & has obtained multiple certifications: ACE, NSCA-CSCS, MMA-CC, TFW Level 1, TRX instructor training, RIP training, EFI Gravity instructor training, LIFT Sandbag Certification, & FMS training. He has produced 2 DVD projects on strength training for combat athletes, appeared in many fitness videos/articles, & was a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter” FOX TV show in 2012. For more information please visit www.dbstrength.com.
Racial issues often intersect with political issues. Slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the Civil Rights movement provide prominent historical examples of this intersection. Today, countless issues underscore this same intersection, including disproportionate public funding for underserved minorities; water contamination in Flint, Michigan; overrepresentation of minorities in the penal system; racial profiling; police brutality; racially-motivated domestic terror; threats of deportation based on skin color and religion; pervasive institutional racism; gerrymandering; voter ID laws; and the list goes on.
Francis used to have his sprinters – some of the most explosive and powerful athletes in the world – perform what he called “tempo runs” on lower intensity training days. These tempo runs generally consisted of short sprints of 12-15 seconds at 75% or less of their maximum speed with about 1 minute or so of rest between sprints. Even though the short sprint events Francis coached were extremely explosive and anaerobic in nature, he believed these lower intensity aerobic intervals played a key role in building work capacity and improving speed.
While you can’t depend on boxing solely as a skill, it is an important part of MMA training. The advantage of sharpening your boxing skill set is that you will improve your hand skills, and boxing includes a great deal of conditioning that will make you a stronger MMA fighter. Find an MMA gym with skilled boxing coaches that offer classes ranging from beginning skills to professional-level boxing. However, don’t expect to simply rely on those boxing skills. Many a tough boxer has been thrown to the ground by an expert wrestler.